From now until the 2017 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to showcase as many prospects as possible and examine both their strengths and weaknesses. Most of these profiles will feature individuals that the Pittsburgh Steelers are likely to have an interest in, while a few others will be top-ranked players. If there is a player you would like us to analyze, let us know in the comments below.
D’Onta Foreman/RB Texas – 6’0/2 233
The Good
– Impressive frame, big lower half, but carries weight well and doesn’t look sloppy, and has big hands (10 1/8 inches)
– Good feet for how big he is, able to get skinny through the hole, and shows impressive change of direction ability, able to press the hole and lateral movement to change gaps
– Shows vision in man schemes and able to create outside the structure of the run when things break down behind the LOS
– Generally runs to frame and bounces off shoulder tackles, able to run through arm tackles when running North/South
– Surprising speed, able to win the edge, and shows a second gear in the open field, faster than I thought
– Successful short-yardage runner who runs downhill and is aware of down/distance
– Squares up in pass protection and size creates a good anchor
– Tremendous production in final year on sub-par team
The Bad
– Impressive athlete for size but obviously lacks great long speed compared to other backs in his class
– Pretty severe fumbling concerns/ball security issues
– Want to see pad level lowered a bit to do better job at the end of runs to maximize power
– Needs to show more active eyes in pass protection to pick up LB dogs and DB blitzes
– Seldom used out of the backfield, had one bad drop of the few targets he had in tape watched
– Only a one year starter, experience being the feature back
Bio
– One year starter
– Career: 431 carries, 2774 yards, 15 TDs, 13 receptions
– 2016: 323 carries, 2028 yards, 15 TDs, 7 receptions
– Had six fumbles in final season, had one in 95 carries in 2015
– Ended career with 13 straight 100+ yard rushing games
– Consensus All-American
– Brother is a WR for Texas
Tape Breakdown
Foreman is another big back in a class seemingly full of them the Steelers will be – and have already shown – interest in. He’s over 230 pounds but carries his weight well. We’re not dipping into Eddie Lacy territory here, though maybe the 323 carries he shouldered last year ran off any fast food trips he took.
He has good power, not on the Leonard Fournette scale, but plays to his size. Most impressively though is his feet and acceleration for a 233 pounder.
But he’ll run big when he needs to and I really like him in short-yardage situations. His performance against West Virginia is some clinic tape and I don’t think he got stopped once in that situation. Just one example but check it out in the Youtube video linked before.
If you’re a big #DraftTwitter guy, you might remember a debate about Foreman’s pass protection chops. I never saw him directly give up a pressure but it looked like he may have been at fault for some pass protection. Probably at fault for missing this LB dog against WVU.
A lot of the issues are things that are hard to sum up in one play. He was just a one-year starter though the definite lead back this past season, there’s no question about that. He barely saw action out of the backfield, 13 career receptions is about as few as it gets, and he had one screen clang off his hands in the four games I watched.
There’s the fumbling problems, six his final year, with four of those coming in the final four games. A lack of ball security is a one-way ticket to riding the pine, no matter how well you play otherwise.
Foreman had a fantastic season for the Longhorns on a pretty crappy team. He’s far from a plodder, can pass protect, and with reps, he’ll be serviceable enough out of the backfield. If he can stop putting the football on the ground, he’ll make whoever drafts him pretty happy. Compares well to LeGarrette Blount.
Projection: Late Day Two
Games Watched: at California, at Kansas State, vs West Virginia, vs TCU
